Axa S.A. Has $1.58 Million Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

AXA S.A. lowered its stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET - Free Report) by 48.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,256 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,384 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A.'s holdings in MetLife were worth $1,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MET. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of MetLife in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 94.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MET shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MetLife from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on MetLife in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on MetLife from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.69.

MetLife Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MET traded down $1.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $80.04. 704,157 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,395,495. The firm has a market cap of $53.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. MetLife, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.21 and a fifty-two week high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.04). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. The company had revenue of $18.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5675 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is a positive change from MetLife's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. MetLife's payout ratio is 36.91%.

MetLife declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.